How long does Spanish citizenship take? 2026 timeline

01How many years do I need to live in Spain?

The periods are set by Article 22 of the Spanish Civil Code. The clock only runs while you hold a valid residence permit, and your residence must be continuous and immediately before you apply.

Your situation	Years of legal residence
General rule, including UK, US, Irish, Australian and Canadian nationals	10 years
Recognised refugees	5 years
Nationals by origin of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, and Sephardic Jews	2 years
Married to a Spanish national for at least one year, not separated	1 year
Born in Spain, widowed spouse of a Spaniard, or born abroad to a parent or grandparent who was originally Spanish	1 year

So a British or American retiree who moved in 2026 on a non-lucrative visa would, at the earliest, be able to apply in 2036, and only if every renewal was made on time and the residence was genuinely continuous.

02What counts as legal residence, and does student time count?

Legal residence means time spent in Spain holding a residence permit: non-lucrative, digital nomad, work, family, long-term residence, EU family member card or the Withdrawal Agreement TIE for UK nationals. Time spent in Spain without a permit does not count, and gaps between a permit expiring and its renewal being filed can break the chain.

Student time is the grey area. Under Spain's immigration regulations, studying is a 'stay' (estancia por estudios), not residence, and the authorities have generally not counted it towards citizenship. It is disputed, so if your plan relies on years as a student, have your dates checked before you apply.

Note that tax residence is irrelevant here. The 183-day rule matters to the tax office, not to the Ministry of Justice. What counts for citizenship is your immigration status.

03How long can I be out of Spain during those years?

The Civil Code does not set a maximum number of days abroad. It requires continuous residence, and the Ministry looks at whether Spain was really your home. Holidays and short work trips are not a problem. Long absences, such as several months a year spent in the UK or US, can lead the Ministry to question continuity and refuse.

Keep evidence of your life in Spain: padrón registration, tax returns, a rental contract or deeds, utility bills, medical records. If you spend long periods abroad, take advice before applying, not after a refusal.

04How long does the Ministry take after I apply, and how do I check status?

Under Article 11.3 of Royal Decree 1004/2015, the Ministry of Justice must decide and notify within one year of the application reaching the department handling it. If it does not, the application is treated as refused by administrative silence, and you can take the case to the administrative courts. In practice, the one-year deadline is often exceeded, and the Ministry has run several backlog-clearing plans.

Most of the wait is spent waiting for background reports. The law makes a report from the Ministry of the Interior mandatory, and other bodies, including the national intelligence service, can be consulted. Criminal or police records, even old ones, and inconsistent personal details slow things down.

You can check progress on the Ministry of Justice's online status service, using your NIE, the file number (starting with R), the year of application and your date of birth. The labels are in Spanish. The ones you are most likely to see are: Abierto registrado (registered), En tramitación (under initial review), Pendiente de recepción de informes preceptivos (waiting for the mandatory reports), Requerido (documents requested, three months to reply), En estudio (reports received, under assessment), En calificación (proposed decision prepared for signature), and finally Concedido (granted) or Denegado (refused). A status change is not a notification: requests and decisions arrive as formal electronic notices.

05What does the whole process cost?

The Ministry's fee, paid on form 790 code 026, is 104.05 euros according to its information page in October 2026. On top of that you will pay for the two Instituto Cervantes exams if you need them: the CCSE test on Spanish society and the Constitution, and the DELE A2 Spanish language exam, which nationals of Spanish-speaking countries do not need.

Then come the documents from your home country: a full birth certificate and a criminal record certificate, both apostilled and with a sworn translation into Spanish. For UK applicants that means an ACRO police certificate and a GRO birth certificate, apostilled by the FCDO. Lawyers' fees, if you use one, are separate.

06Is it hard to get Spanish citizenship? Common reasons for refusal

For someone with clean records, the right number of years and passed exams, it is mainly a question of patience and paperwork. The refusals we see most often are avoidable.

Applying too early because a residence gap or an unrenewed permit was not counted correctly.
Long absences from Spain that break continuity.
Criminal or police records, including old cautions or offences in the home country, assessed under good civic conduct.
Certificates that are not apostilled, not translated or out of date.
Names spelt differently across passport, birth certificate and TIE.
On the one-year marriage route, no proof of living together, or separation in fact.
Ignoring a request for documents: after three months the file is archived as abandoned.

07Can I get it faster by marrying a Spanish citizen?

Yes, in terms of years. If at the time of applying you have been married to a Spanish national for at least one year and are not separated legally or in fact, you need just one year of legal residence in Spain. The Ministry's processing time is the same as for everyone else, and it will check that the marriage is real and that you live together.

A registered partnership (pareja de hecho) is not the same as marriage for this route. If you are not married, the general periods apply.

08Do Americans and Brits have to give up their nationality?

As a rule, yes, on paper. Article 23 of the Civil Code requires you to declare at the oath that you renounce your previous nationality. Only nationals of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and Sephardic Jews of Spanish origin, are exempt, and the Spain-France convention allows French nationals to keep theirs.

Whether that declaration has any effect in your home country depends on that country's law. Some countries, such as the UK and the US, have their own formal renunciation procedure, so check with your own government what effect, if any, the Spanish declaration has. Spain, in turn, can withdraw citizenship from naturalised Spaniards who use only the nationality they renounced for three years (Article 25 of the Civil Code).

09Frequently asked questions

Can Spanish citizenship be revoked?

For naturalised citizens, yes, in limited cases set out in Article 25 of the Civil Code: using exclusively the renounced nationality for three years, voluntarily joining a foreign army or holding foreign political office against an express government ban, or a final court ruling that citizenship was obtained by falsehood, concealment or fraud, which the public prosecutor must bring within fifteen years.

What happens after I am granted citizenship?

You have 180 days from notification to take the oath or promise, before the Civil Registry for your address or a notary, and to request registration. If you miss that window, the grant lapses under Article 21.4 of the Civil Code. Once registered, you apply in person for your Spanish ID card (DNI) and passport.

Is permanent residency better than citizenship?

They do different jobs. Long-term residence (after five years) gives you stable residence and work rights without exams or renouncing anything. Citizenship gives you an EU passport, the vote and freedom of movement, but takes longer and involves the renunciation declaration. Many people get long-term residence first and decide later.

Can I leave Spain while my application is being processed?

Yes, you can travel, but you must keep living in Spain and keep your residence permit valid. Renew your permit on time even while citizenship is pending. If you need to travel while a renewal is pending, apply for a return authorisation.

Does using a lawyer make the Ministry decide faster?

There is no fast lane for lawyers. What a lawyer does is reduce delays you can control: applying on the right date, filing a complete file electronically, and answering any request for documents within the deadline.

My application has passed the one-year deadline. What can I do?

You can wait, or go to court against the refusal by silence. A decision can still arrive, and filing a court claim usually forces the Ministry to resolve. Whether it is worth it depends on how long you have waited and whether you have a pressing need, so take advice on your specific file.

··Official sources

Information reviewed on 03.10.2026 against the law in force. This page is for general information and is not a substitute for advice on your own case.

How long does it take to get Spanish citizenship through residency?

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